Skilled cast makes 'Clean House' a delight

When was the last time you laughed? Really laughed?

For those of us at opening night of "The Clean House," we can confidently say, "Friday night!"

"The Clean House," one of the most produced plays in the country from an award-winning playwright, 33-year-old Sarah Ruhl, is about Matilde, a maid who finds that "cleaning makes me sad."

In Salt Lake Acting Company's current production, the laughter begins in the first scene where a joke is being told to the audience in Portuguese, a language most theatergoers can't understand.

Yet we all seem to get the punch line.

There is a monitor hanging on the side of the stage, not to translate the joke, but to tell the audience: "A woman tells a joke in Portuguese."

With that, the audience needs to be prepared to suspend belief a bit. Things are not always as they seem in Ruhl's world. Times and places can be a bit nebulous, which adds to the show's charm.

The rest of the charm comes from a fabulous cast, most of whom are veteran actors.

Camila Borrero, a University of Utah graduate, is endearing as the depressed Brazilian maid who is always trying to think of the "perfect joke" to carry on her family's legacy.

Wonderful comedic timing and perfectly exasperated facial expressions make Joyce Cohen, as Lane, the uptight, edgy doctor who hired the maid, a joy to watch.

Anne Stewart Mark is perfectly persnickety and very funny as Lane's sister, delivering such lines as "My husband is like a well-placed couch. He takes up the right amount of space."

Rounding out the five-person cast are Anne Cullimore Decker, who plays a cancer patient with much warmth and charm, and Mark Gollaher, who has perfected a dopey-in-love stare and exuberance.

When good actors are onstage playing off one another, it is truly a treat.

The only thing the skilled cast needs to be aware of is how funny they really are. There were times Friday night they did not pause long enough for the laughter to die down, making it hard to hear the next line.

But the show isn't all about laughs. The characters all go through some wonderful changes as they learn to forgive, to say thank you, to love and to appreciate.

You realize that cleansing yourself can take on many forms, from dirtying things up a bit, finding the right person or sharing a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

There are sad moments, therapeutic moments and, of course, very funny moments.

Matilde sums it up best: "A good joke cleans your insides out. If I don't laugh for a week, I feel dirty. I feel dirty now, like my insides are rotting."

If your soul could use a good spring cleaning, treat yourself to a dose of this medicine.

Sensitivity rating: Language and sensuality.

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E-mail: ehansen@desnews.com